At the Senior Leadership Conference, attendees will learn the latest revenue-producing and expense-saving programs from the industry’s leading companies. Today, we highlight one of those sessions. Additional sessions will be highlighted in upcoming newsletters.

AI and the Future of Newsroom Efficiency

Host: Tony Bangert, CRO, BLOX Digital

Join us for a glimpse into the future of digital content creation with Bob Woodward, VP of Community Media at Woodward Communications. In this dynamic exchange, we’ll discuss how AI can ethically augment the efficiency of the modern newsroom. We’ll also explore how innovative tools like BLOX Digital’s Smart Cropping are enhancing productivity at Woodward Communications. Finally, we’ll preview the cutting-edge AI tools under development at BLOX Digital.

View the full agenda here

LEARN MORE about the Senior Leadership Conference

The America's Newspapers Senior Leadership Conference is just two weeks away. Join us Oct. 8-10 in Chicago and bring your key department heads.

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In addition to networking opportunities with your industry colleagues as well as hallway and dinner conversations, here's what you will miss if you aren't with us for the Senior Leadership Conference:

Revenue 2024

This fast-paced session will feature some of the industry’s leading voices discussing the hottest issues and opportunities in revenue management, development and diversification opportunities, including events, digital revenue, sales training & recruitment and more.

Local Media Accelerator

Take a deep dive on how a partnership between one of America’s leading journalism schools and five Chicago-area news organizations are yielding encouraging new performance outcomes in the key areas of research and insights, content strategy, business strategy, product design and leadership development.

Content 2024

Editorial leaders from across the industry will discuss the hottest issues and opportunities in building strong local news products in the coming year, including digital content, diversity, trust in media, revenue-producing content and more

Advocacy in Action: Strategies for Success

The newspaper industry has an excellent opportunity to benefit from two critical pieces of legislation in Congress right now. But the time is now for publishers to take action! This session will focus on the critical issues impacting advocacy efforts and what publishers should do to improve the chances for success. Attendees will come away with powerful information to help them make local decisions and a road map on how to build relationships with legislators and readers for success. 

Generative AI: The latest innovations and setting guidelines to maintain trust with sources and readers.

Local news publishers need to push through the hype and the fear and realize they have NO choice but to think about generative AI now. Generative AI is no substitute for human reporters. Still, the wave of new tools will be critical in assisting reporters in finding stories, enabling customization/personalization for news customers, and helping publishers with advertising and subscription offerings. Most critical: publishers need to set clear guidelines for use to maintain trust with their sources and audiences.

Responsible Generative AI

Join us for this off-the-record talk where a thought leader in the AI Industry talks about how to build AI systems responsibly as more and more companies, including publishers, start to think about how to use AI systems in their day-to-day business. With recent developments in AI, the ability for small businesses to build their own models is much more accessible than it has ever been before. Come listen to David Adkins, Responsible AI at Meta, talk about how these models are being used, some of the pitfalls and concerns, and how to avoid these issues as you start to explore AI’s use in your business and news operations.

Legal Impacts of Generative AI on the Newspaper Industry

This session will focus on the basics and the risks and benefits of generative AI, and emerging legal issues.

What’s Next for AI?

This expert panel of specialists leads an open discussion on the future opportunities and challenges AI will bring to local newspapers.

Plus, our Solution Showcase

Six fast-paced Solution Showcases will highlight solutions that are positively impacting newspaper organizations – success stories with real-results!

View the full agenda here

LEARN MORE about the Senior Leadership Conference

While the deadline has passed to reserve hotel rooms in our block at The Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago, it still may be possible to get a room at the hotel.

Here is the reservations link.

The Family & Independent Owners meeting is a unique opportunity to gather and collaborate with other newspaper families that have similar business organizations, challenges and opportunities.

The Family & Independent Owners meeting is about sharing experiences and learning from other organizations like yours. In Chicago we’ll hear directly from executives at several family owned operations who will share their stories on how they’re making it work, their unique structures and the communities they serve, and their plans for the future, including:

Diversifying business plans

Structures with family and non-family owners

Revenue strategies and successes

And more!

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The Post and Courier's PJ Browning named 'Executive of the Year' by Inter American Press Association

The Post and Courier's President and Publisher PJ Browning has been named "Executive of the Year" by the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). This esteemed recognition highlights her outstanding leadership, unwavering commitment to journalistic excellence, and her significant contributions to the media industry.

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The promise vs. fear of AI

Overseeing the Knight Lab at Northwestern University, Jeremy Gilbert has been exploring the intersection of technology and news media, a topic that has become urgent amid the rocket-like rise of artificial intelligence.

In this conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity (and transcribed using AI but corrected via human ears), Gilbert makes the case for AI’s transformative potential while cautioning against lurking dangers.

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